𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎 | Regal Duties

{ Daenerys }

✧✦✧

𝕿he Targaryen dynasty was one that struck fear into the hearts of men, that was what Daenerys had always been told. It was the story that she had been told over and over, that to be a good ruler, they had to be harsh and cold, they had to strike fear.

Daenerys was discovering that ruling with fear went slightly against her nature. She had it in her to be cruel, she knew she did, but only when she knew that the people who felt her wrath deserved it. She was not cruel with no reason to be, she was not her father.

"You did well, Your Grace." Ser Barristan complimented as the last of the people wishing to speak with her left. Daenerys allowed her shoulders to slump for a moment, running a tired hand down her face before straightening up. Glancing to the right of her, she found the space where Coren normally stood, empty still. She had hoped, though she knew that she was deluding herself, that Coren would have appeared over the course of the session but he had not. "He will come around."

"I do not want to speak on it." Daenerys stood up, stopping the conversation before it could start and stalking out and towards where she knew her daughter was. 

After Jorah, and having found him to be a traitor, Daenerys' first priority was to her daughter, to ensure her safety and wellbeing. Opening the door to her own chambers, Daenerys paused at the sight of Coren's form hovering over their daughter's crib. She had not seen him in a few days, with Coren having thrown himself into patrolling and training, seeing their daughter when he knew that Daenerys was in court or otherwise busy.

Daenerys licked her lips, wondering whether to call out to him, or if she should leave it be. He made the choice for her.

"Your Grace." She winced at the word. Coren had never called her that, or at least, if he had, never in this tone.

"Coren." He bowed his head, before leaning down to press one final kiss to Rhaenerys' head, standing back up. "Coren, can we speak?"

"I need to bathe and sleep, I have second patrol." Coren turned back towards her, eyes guarded and arms folded over his chest. "Or was it an order?"

"Coren." Daenerys' temper raised it's own head at the man's stubborn ways, before she beat it back down. "You have not been here for days, I have not seen you, I have m-"

She stopped herself from continuing, watching the warrior cautiously as he ducked his head. He was hiding his eyes from her, hiding his true emotions.

"This is improper." Coren pointed out.

"That has never stopped you before." Daenerys stepped in front of the door before Coren could escape. The man sighed, before looking up at her. "Can we speak?"

"No."

"That's not helpful." Daenerys leant her back to the door, confident that Coren would not move her to open the door. "You were missed at court today."

"I am quite certain I was not."

"And I am quite sure you were." Daenerys folded her arms over her chest, watching him carefully. She did not know what to do, whether she should apologise again or ask him to stop avoiding her and by extension the rest of her advisors. Daenerys did not know what to do in these situations, still not very used to them. "The Unsullied say you do not patrol with them."

"Did you come to interrogate me on my whereabouts?" Coren mimicked her posture, watching her with a cocked eyebrow as Daenerys tried to get a read on his expression and what it meant. "I can write a detailed guide as to where I was, who I saw and what was said if that would make the queen feel better."

"What would make the queen feel better is if the father of her child would stop avoiding her and have a conversation with her." Daenerys shot back. "Coren, I just-I just want things to go back to normal."

Rhaenerys huffed and both Coren and Daenerys turned towards her in an instance, willing the child not to wake up. Luckily for them, the little dragon slept onwards.

"She knows how to scream." Daenerys muttered, before thanking the gods that their daughter had continued to sleep.

"Aye, she does." Coren agreed, his normal quip of it coming from her not echoing back as Daenerys' shoulders slumped further. "I need to go and sleep, if that is alright with you."

Daenerys wished to keep him there longer, to urge him to stay and to get him to listen to her, but her words failed her and she slumped. Stepping aside, Daenerys watched him go. He paused beside her, and she perked up, wondering if he would finally say something.

"I'll come to council meetings tomorrow." He didn't look at her, hand on the doorknob as Daenerys' eyes lit up, a small smile forming on her lips. "If that's all, Your Grace."

"Thank you, Coren." She found his hand, squeezing softly as he turned away from her and disappeared. She huffed to herself, before returning to her daughter, who's eyes had opened. "Hello Little Dragon."

Rhaenerys giggled, a smile forming on her face as Daenerys narrowed her eyes.

"Have you been awake this whole time?" Her giggles filled the room as Daenerys picked their daughter up once more, kissing her cheek and delighting in the squeal of joy that accompanied it. "You are trouble, are you not? Your father will come around, I know it."

Rhaenerys grinned and grabbed a hold of her finger, eyes glimmering as Daenerys smiled.

✧✦✧

For the first time in days, the position to the right of her was filled and Daenerys sat on her throne with a renewed sense of calm. It was not that she did not trust the others in her circle of advisors, it was merely that she trusted Coren more so.

He had greeted her when she came in, which was another vast improvement to him not speaking to her. Even Ser Barristan's knowing look had done little to dampen Daenerys' spirit, far too pleased to be in familiar company.

The court proceedings, as they always were, were fairly monotonous. People came and went, asking her to help them solve some problems, to aid them when they needed it and to provide support and structure where she could. 

"Your Grace." Daenerys nodded at the soldier that was ahead of her. "I am sorry to disturb, Your Grace, but we felt that this needed to be brought to you immediately. May we approach?"

Daenerys went to nod, but Ser Barristan held a hand out as he stared at the sack that the man carried. His other hand had gone to his sword, before he motioned to Coren. Daenerys was a little confused, she had to admit, at why they were being so overly cautious.

Coren joined the soldiers at the bottom, taking the sack from it. He opened it quickly, before everything in his body tensed. Their voices dropped as Daenerys stood from her seat, eyes narrowing. 

"What is it?" Coren took the sack, the soldiers hurrying out as he spun to look at her.

"That is enough petitioners for today, Ser Barristan." Daenerys' eyes narrowed at the man's words.

"Coren, you cannot make that decision." Daenerys hissed, though she was ignored.

"Missandei, do you think that you are able to stay with Rhaenerys for the moment?" Missandei nodded, before disappearing as Coren turned to face Daenerys' glare. "They were patrolling the outer areas of Mereen, where we are less likely to go. This is what they found."

Daenerys reached for the sack, opening it slowly, before recoiling in an instance. Her hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide as she looked up at Coren's face. He handed it to Grey Worm, who's face twisted into a scowl, before Ser Barristan looked inside. The older man shook his head.

"It was merely a matter of time." Ser Barristan sighed. "I suppose more patrols will have to do."

Daenerys looked between them, as the sack was passed back to Coren, who held it gently in his arms.

"How do we shut this behaviour down?" Coren questioned.

"We cannot, not unless we have culprits and people to punish." Grey Worm spoke back as Daenerys' brain struggled to process what was in the bag. 

"Or we could make an example out of someone. That might send a message."

"Yes, but would it reach the right people." Coren shook his head. "It mi-"

"Tell me what they said when they spoke to you." Daenerys cut Coren off, as the man turned to her with cautious eyes, like he was considering denying her request. "Do not make me ask again."

"They said they found it by a message." Coren licked his lips, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "That it read something along the lines of little dragons have no fangs to bite back or some poor innuendo that was meant to show that the child they murdered was an-"

"Coren." Ser Barristan shook his head as the warrior paused. "Enough."

"She has a right to know."

"We are dealing with it." Ser Barristan pointed out as Daenerys began to connect the words together, blood draining from her face.  She knew what this meant, what this badly worded threat was aimed at or more likely, who it was aimed at. 

"There are more instances of this?" Daenerys looked between the three men, "and I was not made aware?"

"They were pretty unassuming." Coren spoke up, still holding the bag as if he would their own daughter. "There was nothing that could have shown that this was the direction that they would take. It escalated far faster than we anticipated and obviously, we would have told you before it got anywhere close to this point but senseless punishment would have made things worse."

"They seem to have escalated faster than you predicted." Grey Worm pointed out, shrugging as the other two men turned to him. "We all knew that this was a possible outcome."

Daenerys' ears rung for a moment, staring at the bag, watching as blood trickled from it, through Coren's fingers and dropped to the floor. She did not hear the argument happening around her as the three men talked about what to do. All she could think about was the body that lay inside that bag, the mutilation that had been carried out to it and the fact that the people who did this had wished for someone else to be in the child's place.

They'd wished for her child to be there.

"Senseless violence will do nothing." Coren reiterated as Daenerys came back to the conversation. "It would only serve to heighten tensions, bring light to their actions and make them more bold."

"Increase patrols and find me the culprits." Daenerys interrupted their argument, shaking her head. "If they become more bold, the next thing that they will aim to do is kill my daughter. Find the culprits and bring them to me."

"Your Grace, is that w-"

"Those are my orders." Daenerys squared her shoulders, eyebrows furrowed in distress. "Bury the child."

Hiya,

So, Coren and Dany still aren't technically speaking but they're co-parenting and there's been threats against Rhaenerys, so that's fun. I promise all of this is connected and you'll see why in the next chapter :) Sorry I've not been around, my degree is draining me and this chapter was hard to write and I'm not sure if I like it.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx